From Growing Up
by Raven3357
Summary: We all know about how Jerome started boarding school when he was 5 but do we know why? This is a story on how Jerome first moved to Anubis House. Being the youngest there, it isn't always easy for the poor 5 year old. How will he cope? And what happens when he meets a special girl called Mara? Jara in future chapters. Disclaimer: I do not own HOA.


**A/N: Good day all! 3357 here! This is a story I'm solo working on, Raven is only going to edit it and I will write it. A basic plot summary, basically some parts of Jerome's life before the show starts, so when he moved to Anubis, how his life was, etc. There might be some random time jumps but this isn't a collection of one shots, they're all related :) Thanks and I hope you like it!**

* * *

The car pulled up to the front of the large, old house. The driver was a woman, a mother of two to be precise. The woman turned around to face the back of the car, where a five year old boy sat patiently. The boy was tall for his age, but pale and skinny, with a mop of blonde hair. His name was Jerome.

Jerome looked out the window, frowning at the old house.

"Well, here's your new home," his mother said briskly, getting out of the car.

"My new home? Isn't it our new home, not mine?" Jerome asked, curiously. Smart for his age but also extremely inquisitive.

"Yes, yes that's what I meant," she said, not particularly paying any attention, as she pulled a small suitcase out of the boot.

Jerome turned to his right, where his one year old baby sister Poppy, sat. He smiled lovingly at her, showing off his pure white teeth.

"Then why isn't Poopy getting out?" Jerome asked, using his special nickname for his adored sister.

"Well, I have to go back home to pick up something I forgot," his mum said quickly. "I'll take Poppy back. It's too much of a bother to leave her here."

Jerome frowned but accepted this. He opened the car door, but not before giving Poppy a kiss on the head, a big hug, and a little wave.

His mother handed him his suitcase.

"Don't worry, I'll be back, some time," she said dully. "Just go in and see whether you can find a woman called Trudy or a man called Victor." She sat back in the driver's seat and drove off, without looking back.

Jerome sighed and stared up at the towering, intimidating house that looked down menacingly at him. He always tried to get his mother to love him, like how she loved Poppy, but sometimes, things were best left alone before they took a wrong turn. He quickly pulled his suitcase with him and up the steps to the house he went.

Jerome cautiously knocked on the door, and almost immediately, it flew open. There stood a smiling woman with curly black hair.

"Oh, hello sweetie!" she greeted cheerfully, beaming happily like the sun at him. "You must be Jerome! I've been waiting for you!"

Jerome seemed a bit shocked at the woman's cheerfulness and loving nature that she seemed to have, despite just meeting her.

"My name's Trudy, I'm the house mother. Come in dearie, and I'll give you a tour of the house before I leave you to unpack!"

She ushered Jerome in the house and shut the door.

"Okay, you can leave your case just here and here we go!" Trudy chirped. "Here's the living room, you can do anything here whenever you want, as long as it isn't school hours. Here's the table, where I serve breakfast and dinner, and over there is the kitchen and laundry room. You _will_ be taking turns for the dishes though! Ah, here's your room, you can go and unpack later. These rooms downstairs are all boys' rooms and the rooms upstairs are for the girls. You're first to arrive! Well here we go, up the stairs and here's Victor's office. He's always popping down at the school, him being the caretaker and all. You'll get to meet him later. That's it! Here's your bag, and I'll leave you to unpack!"

"Thank you," Jerome said, quietly. He followed Trudy downstairs to the room she assigned him and walked in. He threw his suitcase on the bed and sat down on it.

_What did the nice woman, this Trudy, mean by the boys and girls? Mum and Poppy? What about those chores? Did mum drop me off here without telling me about the school or something? _Jerome thought.

A horrid thought ran through his head. This boost of energy snapped Jerome into action. He quickly opened his suitcase and sure enough, there was a note and a school uniform inside, along with the other things Jerome packed. He opened the note and started to read. Jerome was an intelligent boy for a five year old and could read most things with no problem:

_Jerome, this is your new home, a school. You're smart-ish for a five year old and came here on a mini scholarship. You'll find out what that means in about five to seven years. With your dad gone, there's not much left I can do, without the money. You'll be here for the next ten years at least, so get comfortable and I'm sure you can manage without me. Besides, you have Trudy to help you if you need to ask her for something. Oh, and I also doubt you will be seeing Poppy or myself again. Forget about your father, seeing him is impossible._

That was it. No apology, no good bye, just a brief explanation that spun a list of questions in the young boy's head.

_No Poppy? She won't remember me in ten years, will she? _Jerome thought. _What happened to dad? Why didn't she tell me she was gonna leave me here alone? _

As those questions ran through Jerome's head, he didn't notice another boy walk in. The boy was taller than him, and he was pretty tall for his age. Unless this kid was some kind of growing mutant, he must've been older than Jerome.

"Oh? Who are you?" the boy said rudely. He was of a bigger build than Jerome and must've been around seven or nine years old.

"Jerome Clarke," Jerome answered, standing up to shake the boy's hand.

"I'm Kevin," the boy answered and shook Jerome's hand, only to pull him forwards once their hands got within contact. Jerome fell on the floor, shocked and hurt. Kevin laughed loudly.

"Loser," he sneered, walking out, not before giving Jerome a harsh kick.

_I hope the rest of the house aren't like this_, Jerome thought.

**LATER AT DINNER**

Jerome walked into the dining area to see a group of seven children-all older than him-sitting at the table together. There were four girls and three boys, one Jerome recognised as Kevin. Trudy rushed merrily in and out of the kitchen, placing down platters of all sorts of delicious smelling food onto the dinner table. When Jerome walked cautiously in, Trudy looked up and smiled and clapped a few times before the chatting died down.

"Hello dearies! I'd like you all to meet Jerome!" Trudy announced. Everyone stared at Jerome. "He's a little bit younger than you all, so be nice!"

Silence.

"Then why's he here if he's younger? We're already the youngest in the school!" A boy with brown hair called.

"Oh I don't know, his mother dropped him off. I think this little boy got a mini scholarship!" Trudy said happily and oblivious to everyone's confused faces.

"If I'm not supposed to be here, what do I do?" Jerome murmured in a quiet voice.

"Aww, sweetie, don't fret, we'll sort it out. Now go eat your dinner and you can sit next to Kevin. If you're going to be roommates, you wanna know each other better," coaxed Trudy.

Jerome frowned slightly, not keen on meeting and 'wanting to know' Kevin any better but sat down next to Kevin anyway.

This was gonna be a long night.

* * *

**A/N: Well? Hope it was good :D Just to let you know, I am NOT NOT NOT a regular updater, sorry! Thanks for reading and review!**

**~Raven3357**

**xx**


End file.
